The Price We Pay
by Mini Nephthys
Summary: The after-effects of seeing your best friend killed in front of you. Yangire!Issei. Onesided Issei x Shirou.


Caster wakes suddenly, with something covering her face and something else pinning her to the futon. She struggles frantically (push him off, get away), to no avail - can't speak, can't cast magic, can't physically overpower whoever it is. Can't breathe, can't survive for long. How did a Servant get past Assassin without her noticing, even in her sleep - how is Kuzuki not here -

"It's really a shame that he had to work late today. I know he's a lighter sleeper."

She knows that voice - not that dull tone it's in, but that voice - but it makes no sense that she would hear that voice now. Only a Master or Servant should have reason to want to kill her.

"It might have been wiser to stay awake until he returned, but it's late, and you're tired. I can understand that. I didn't get much sleep last night, either."

She struggles again, pushing at the pillow covering her nose and mouth. If she could speak, she could defend herself, and she needs to breathe.

"Oh, you want me to let you beg for mercy? That's strange."

Again, her attacker overpowers her. …She won't last until Kuzuki returns.

"Because - you didn't let Emiya beg for his life when you killed him, did you?"

Her last clear thought is an apology to Kuzuki for failing him.

He watches her body until it fades away. He finds that strange for a moment, then thinks no more of it.

* * *

A few students keep glancing at Shirou's empty desk. It's not like him to be absent two days in a row. Even if he is, Taiga usually makes some comment in homeroom that lets them know what happened to him.

He's probably sick, and she just didn't mention it. There's no reason to suspect anything more unusual.

(Shinji looks like he thinks he knows something. He did yesterday, too, but wouldn't say anything when one of them asked him about it.)

"Ryudo, your answer to number three?" Kuzuki asks, not looking up from the book.

Issei doesn't answer. It doesn't look like he even heard.

Kuzuki levels his gaze at him. "Ryudo?"

Issei still doesn't look up.

Kuzuki walks out from behind his desk and in front of Issei. "Ryudo."

Slowly, Issei blinks and looks up at Kuzuki. "What was the question?"

It's strange for Issei to not be paying attention, too, but everyone has their off days. It's not important, is it?

* * *

"We have to deal with Caster somehow." Rin leans against the meshed fence of the rooftop.

"It would be best if we could lure her and her Master out to us," Archer answers. "A frontal assault…"

He doesn't need to tell her how dangerous that would be. She already knows that Shirou died that way two nights ago. "She'll only get stronger if we leave her alone."

"Then we should - someone's coming," Archer warns, and disappears from sight.

A minute later, Issei trudges up the steps to the roof. "Oh, you're here, Tohsaka," he says, not with any malice: a mere statement of fact.

Rin nods. "Don't you usually eat in the student council room, Ryudo-kun?"

His near-monotone doesn't change. "…It's strange to be in there without Emiya." He sits down on the opposite side of the roof, across from Rin, and sets his lunch down in front of him.

She can't speak with Archer while Issei's there, so she waits. And she waits, feeling her and Archer's unease grow every moment. "It's been five minutes, and you haven't even looked at your food," she says, finally.

Nothing about the way he doesn't move at all suggests that he's heard her. Archer's discomfort is tangible now.

Rin sighs and moves to sit down near him. Even if they hate each other, they're still old friends. "What's going on?"

Issei still doesn't look up, and his voice is almost too quiet to hear, but at least he answers her (or talks to himself, it's hard to say). "…Everything. Everything reminds me of him."

She thinks she might know, but she still has to ask. "Of Emiya?"

"We ate in the student council room. We helped each other with things in our classes we didn't understand. I shared lunches like this with him. We walked that path home from school. When he came over I showed him that lake, before she killed him there and the water started turning red." His voice starts breaking up as he becomes more and more hysterical. "I asked for too many favors, and made him the wrong kind of tea, and there were so, so many things I wanted to say to him, and now he's _gone_…!"

Rin turns her head; it's too painful to watch him finally break down and weep.

A few more minutes pass. Issei's sobs fade into silence.

It's cruel to make him think about his death once again, but she has to do it before she can help him. "Ryudo-kun, you said that 'she' killed him. Who is 'she'?" she asks, turning back to him.

His red eyes and still-wet cheeks only emphasize the lack of emotion in his voice. "I don't know her name. She's dead now."

"…You killed her." Rin doesn't know whether to be relieved or frightened.

For the first time since he sat down, he looks up at her and seems to truly notice her presence. "…Tohsaka. You were with Emiya fairly often recently, weren't you?" he asks, very quietly. "Before he died?"

Rin tenses, nods, and catches his wrists before his hands can wrap around her throat.

Issei struggles with her, but it's a one-sided fight; she has martial training, he doesn't. It's hard to hear what he's muttering, but from what she catches she guesses it's a chant of exorcism.

Over his shoulder, Rin sees Archer materialize. He didn't need to bother - she had planned this from the moment Issei broke down.

"This won't hurt," she says, as reassuringly as she can. "Much."

* * *

Archer is quiet for the rest of the day.

On the way out of the school, they pass the student council room. Rin stops as she hears voices from inside.

"Your performance today was lackluster, Ryudo. I expect better from you."

"I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me. I will be much more attentive tomorrow, I assure you."

"See that you do. There is nothing wrong with being upset over Emiya's disappearance, but you should not let it affect your grades."

"…I'm sorry, but I don't think I know anyone by the name of 'Emiya'. Is that an underclassman?"

A pause. "He is not. I had often seen him eating lunch with you, and assumed you had been close."

"You must be mistaken, Kuzuki-sensei. There's no one I eat lunch with, and no one here I'm close to. I would certainly remember such a person."

Rin continues on her way. After another moment, Archer follows behind.


End file.
